7 Months

They say time flies when you're having fun, right? This month fits that phrase to a T. With all the Christmas preparations and activities, it seems like I just wrote the 6-month update yesterday.

Lucy is just a (big) ball of laughter and love. We got her in for her 6-month check-up on December 11th, and she weighted 22 pounds 13.5 ounces, and was 29 inches long! She had a real growth spurt since her 4-month appointment and is still off the charts in both height and weight. Doc says Lucy is doing great and there are no concerns whatsoever. She's pretty aware of her movement and it's amazing to watch her move herself around - she has a combo of rolling, twisting and scooting (mostly backwards) that gets her wherever she wants to go. She gets up on her hands and knees and bounces sometimes, but is not crawling quite yet. I have seen her pull herself up to her knees on a full laundry basket...which I have to say kind of freaked me out the first time I saw it! She also goes crazy in the jumper and can really bounce herself up and down. She gets so excited!

She's eating well, as you might expect. She's still on the Stage 2 baby foods and has also been able to try yogurt and little bites of mashed potatoes, pancakes, and a few other things that we've been eating. Lucy doesn't quite have the pincer grasp down yet (forefinger and thumb), but she's learning, so the finger foods should follow soon. We've started a sippy cup and she's still figuring out that stuff comes out of it, and it's not just another thing to chew on.

No teeth poking through yet, though the doc said she can see them down beneath the gums. For what we lack in teeth we are making up for with hair! Lucy still doesn't have a lot of it, but it's enough to make a poor excuse for a mohawk in the bathtub, and it's enough that I need to brush it after a bath or it could get a little crazy. Along with her beautiful new hair is a beautiful smile that is very easy to come by and is often accompanied by giggles or a belly laugh (we never knew half of the things we did were so hilarious!) At times it even seems like she is trying to make us laugh by just acting silly...which nearly always works. I am convinced she has a special smile just for her daddy, too. She is loving all of her new interactive toys and gets a kick out of music and noises of all kinds, and will make her own noise if necessary by banging things together or offering her own shrieks and grunts. She is intrigued by games like peek-a-boo and "so big," although she's more of an excited observer at this point.

Part of me wants to just freeze her in time, right here...she is so interactive, so much fun, and so good-natured. But I guess a bigger part of me embraces the inevitable, and is so excited to watch her grow and see what she comes up with next.

Lucy's First Christmas

Although this Christmas didn't turn out to be quite what we expected due to the weather, it actually ended up being quite nice. We were able to make it out for church on Christmas Eve, which served as a reminder of the real reason for the season, and gave us a chance to sing lots of Christmas songs (as well as getting Lucy gussied up in her special dress). Otherwise we pretty much stayed warm and cozy in the house and celebrated Christmas with our little family. It was wonderful to have lots of one-on-one time with Lucy and Brandon. They both enjoyed opening their gifts on Christmas morning. I think the highlights for Brandon were a Hopkins High School sweatshirt and some new slippers (he's pretty easy to please!) Lucy enjoyed her big Elmo book, stacking cups, and princess blanket. We didn't get her too much this Christmas, because we knew she'd be showered with gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles. She didn't seem to mind. :)


All of the celebrations back in Iowa were postponed for the most part, so although we missed everyone we didn't really miss any family events. Hopefully if it works out for everyone, we'll be heading down to my parent's place this coming weekend to celebrate with them and resume the Christmas 2009 Tour. I can't wait for everyone to see how big Lucy is and how much she has changed, and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my nephews and enjoying the company of family. I hope everyone out there had a nice Christmas, even with all the snow!

Merry Christmas

To all our family, near and far. Thinking of you all!

Christmas 2009 Tour: Stopped

The tour has halted, because this is where we're coming from, and this is where we're going. When The Weatherman in his infinite wisdom says "treacherous" and "storm of the quarter century," that used to make me pause. With a baby, it makes me leery. But when Dad says, "I know you don't want to hear this, but..." that's when I listen (suck it, Weatherman).

So Christmas outside of our little family will have to be rescheduled, unless the wrath of Mother Nature turns out to be less wicked than predicted. But it looks like she's pretty ticked off.

Christmas 2009 Tour: Stop #1

The first stop on our family tour this year was Husband's family. We spent the afternoon/ evening at his parent's house lastnight and as expected, both kids were showered with gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and aunties and uncles. Lucy liked playing with the paper, and a couple of gifts definitely caught her immediate attention. Although here you'll see all the piles of clothes and bags of toys behind her - all hers(!), and yet she's totally content playing with an empty box:

I wasn't able to take a lot of photos because I was helping Lucy open her gifts, but this is another favorite, with Auntie Marcey. The cute little headband is one of many that were made especially for Lucy by Grandma L.

Overall we had a great time and Lucy was such a good little girl throughout the whole loud crazy bundle of Christmas joy. She got a little overwhelmed a couple of times when we were opening gifts, but she quickly returned to her smiley self. We were amazed at how well she held up. Brandon had fun as well, and then was kept busy hauling everyone's loot out to their cars. We are headed to Iowa on Thursday to round out this year's Christmas Tour...a string of family celebrations that is sure to bring more fun!

We Just Need Some Boxing Gloves...

Christmas Sing-A-Long

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is digging out the holiday CDs and tuning into the 24-hour Christmas radio station. There are certain obvious activities that pretty much require a soundtrack of holiday tunes, like putting up the Christmas tree...but it even makes more mundane tasks like cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry seem more festive.

One of my favorite holiday songs is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I especially like it as sung by John Denver and Rolf from the Muppets, but I also like the twist of the James Taylor version. My favorite traditional tune is "O Holy Night." Nat King Cole and Martina McBride do great versions of this one. There are so many other wonderful songs though, that I find myself saying "oh, I love this one!" many times over.

So my question is...what are your favorite Christmas tunes?

Heartwarmer

Tonight I finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree. Brandon has been sick for the past few days, but he is feeling a lot better today and offered to help me. It was nice to spend a little time with him and hear him talk about some of the ornaments. He thought it was a pretty big deal that he found an ornament from 2001, and then I pulled out my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament from 1976. Then he found one of Husbands that was marked 1971 - I was trumped!

I was lamenting that we still don't have a tree topper, and Brandon said, "hey, you know what we need? We need a tree topper that is an angel that you can put a picture in, then every year we can put Lucy's picture in it and she can always be the angel on top of our tree."

I had to pause to collect myself as I finished writing that, just as I did when he said it. What a wonderful thing for a teenage boy to say about his little sister. It warms my heart that he loves her so much...and deep inside I know that even with 16 years between them, he will always be there for her. That is one of the most comforting feelings in the world.

Get Out Your Rain Gear...

It's Hurricane Lucy!

6 Months

What a milestone! Lucy is 6 months old today. I can hardly believe our little Lucybug has been with us for half a year.

Lucy continues to grow like a weed; I don’t have specific measurements yet, but I think it’s safe to say she’s around 21.5 pounds, and by my at-home measurement she is over 28 inches. I had her in the doctor last week (turned out to be no big deal) and they said she wins the “Cutest Thighs” award, because my are they chunky! (Takes after her mama, but it looks better on her). As you might expect she continues to eat well, and we are now transitioning into some Stage 2 baby foods and mashed-up home foods that have a little more texture. She's still putting anything and everything in her mouth, but really seems to be chomping down lately, with lots of drool. Maybe there are some teeth coming?

The biggest change this month is that Lucy is back on the move. She is a rolling and wiggling machine! She started rolling from her belly to back again just a few days after I wrote the 5-month recap, and shortly after that I saw her roll from back to belly for the first time. Ever since then, it’s constant movement when she’s on the floor or anywhere else. She's gotten up on her knees a couple of times, so it shouldn't be long now! She is in general more aggressive with her play, i.e. actively grabbing and reaching, and many times knocking things over – either because she’s not quite coordinated enough to manage it, or just because she enjoys the sound it makes. And oh, the sounds from her precious mouth…more shrieks and babbles, and more giggles. Love it! The dog seems to be the one thing that will make her laugh most consistently. She loves her Buddy.

Lucy is also back to sleeping through the night! WA-HOO!! Again, shortly after I wrote the last blog she just went back to sleeping through, no apparent reason why. She goes to bed around 7:30PM with no issues, and wakes around 6AM. Sometimes I have to wake her, other times I find her flipped over on her belly, looking up at me or quietly playing in her crib. She always has a big smile for whomever comes in to get her. We can’t quite figure out where she got this happy morning attitude, but I won’t complain. Those morning smiles are what make me get out of bed without hitting snooze.

We have started using a few baby signs with Lucy, mostly centered around eating. We use the signs for milk, more, and “all done.” It’s a little early yet, but I’ve read it can take months of babies observing the sign before they start to use it. Lucy seems to know what the sign for milk means, so that is some progress. She just amazes me every day with the things she can put together. She seems very curious about words and sounds now, and her big thing lately is to grab people’s faces or lips when they are talking (or consequently, singing in church). Kind of cute until she catches you with a fingernail! (Here she is with Bailey, a friend's daughter):

Lucy is becoming more expressive and has increased her arsenal of “looks” (which her father says come from me). She knows her name and will turn her head toward you when you say it – although sometimes she is also obviously ignoring us, and I can tell you it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility that a 6-month-old can deliver attitude without making a sound. She is also expressing some emotions more vocally, and although she does not cry very often, there are a few things that seem to start the waterworks. She will burst into tears at the sound of a vacuum or sometimes the blow dryer. Occasionally she will fuss or cry if I leave the room. And MY are those tears hard to handle…big crocodile tears with the quivering lip and everything. Yes, she’s learning how to work it. :) She is still sometimes apprehensive of people she doesn’t know well or see very often, but then other times she’s giving smiles to everyone in the store when we’re shopping. Overall she seems to be an incredibly content and happy baby, and we really couldn’t ask for more.

As for what we’re looking forward to in December…BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!

Thankful

Lucy had a great first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa L's house. We are so thankful for this little one...and for the love of our supportive families that surrounds her every day. Happy Thanksgiving!

PSA on CFLs

Lastnight I walked into our bedroom and was confronted with a strong chemical-type odor. I knew it wasn't natural gas, but it still alarmed me to the point I walked into other rooms to see if it was anywhere else in the house, or in the garage which is right under our bedroom. All was clear and I returned to the bedroom to the same electrical-type smell, and after some investigation, I figured out the odor was coming from the CFL bulbs in our ceiling fan light.

The light had been on for awhile, so I switched it off and turned on the bedside lamp to let things cool down. The smell was overwhelming and there even seemed to be a slight haze in the room. I was a little concerned because I know CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, so I also opened the windows to air things out. After a bit I donned some rubber gloves took out each of the bulbs except for one I know I just replaced a couple months ago. I boxed up the used bulbs for recycling and replaced with some new ones. Shortly thereafter the odor was gone.

I did a little research today and found that this is not an unknown consequence of failing CFL bulbs. Very rarely, it can result in fire, but this has only been proven with older bulbs (generally manufactured around 2003 or earlier). Early signs of failure include flickering, a bright orange or red glow, popping sounds, an odor, or browning of the ballast enclosure (base). Obviously I had the odor, but upon further inspection, there was also some dried brown goo on the base, where the bulb meets the ballast cover. This article gives a good description of why this happens.

I am a proponent of CFLs when used correctly. They save energy and over time, save money. Read more about the 11 myths about CFLs here, and get any question you ever had about CFLs answered here.

My point is, I'm not writing this to discourage use of CFLs, but to make you aware of some things that can happen, especially if you have older bulbs in your home (pre-2003). Our house was filled with CFL bulbs when we bought it, so we're not sure of the age of some of them. I'll be checking every bulb for some of the signs listed above, and replacing with new where necessary. Please do the same!

Best Day Ever

I had the most wonderful day yesterday with my little Lucy. I took the day off, and we started off with the usual morning routine, then went to the grocery store to get items for dinner (I much prefer going to the grocery at 6:30AM than other times!) We played for awhile when we got home, then I put her down for a nap and was able to get a few things done around the house that had been long overdue. I assembled dinner in the crockpot and played for awhile longer when Lucy woke up, then we went to visit Daddy. It was so sweet to see Husband showing her off to his co-workers. I see him hold her every day, but I don't know what it was about yesterday; it just reaffirmed what a spitting image she is of her old man. Although people have said lately that they see a little more of me in her, I still think Husband's genes have reigned supreme. It was incredibly cute observing the two of them.

After lunch with Daddy, Lucy and I headed to the Minnesota Zoo. Her first and only trip to the zoo so far was at 3 months. She is so observant and curious now, and can also sit upright in her stroller, so I was really looking forward to taking her again. It was such a great trip on so many levels. I had not been there in the "cold" season before (I say that in quotes because it was a glorious 50 degrees yesterday), and it was a real treat because there were less visitors, and the animals were much more active. The wolves were walking around, moose were up and around and walking right near the fence, and a lot of the smaller animals and birds on the Tropics Trail were right up along the walkway. The first animal that caught Lucy's eye were the otters. I parked her stroller right in front of the glass at the exhibit, and an otter obliged her by circling around, top to bottom right in front of us. She wouldn't take her eyes off him and smiled the whole time.

The real treat for both of us though, was the dolphin tank. Our past few visits to the zoo there have been no dolphin shows and the tank has typically been empty. This time, however, there were three dolphins in the tank, and boy were they having fun! I once again parked the stroller right up to it, and I think the blue shimmering water would have held her attention for awhile itself, but when the dolphins started swimming past right at the front of the tank, she was amazed. I thought it was pretty darn cool myself, and I think she could tell I was excited, because she would look at one going past, then she would just stare at me, smiling. It was the best thing ever, and I think out of our 2-hour visit we spent 20 or 30 minutes just in front of that tank.

I didn't take too many photos - I kind of just wanted to be in the moment with her. She was awake and so alert at the zoo, and she was such a good, happy girl the entire day...she seemed incredibly content just to be hanging out with Mom (and Dad when we saw him). This shot is one of the few, and I think it pretty much sums up the day:


Pretty much the best day ever. Thank you, Lucy. Mama needed that.

Staging a Blog-In

Husband says I should quit blogging until some of y'all start making some comments! I know several of you are reading, because I get comments in person. I won't stop blogging; contrary to popular belief I don't do it ALL for you [gasp!]. I do it for me, and moreso now for my little Lucy. This is a great way to capture her milestones. She's growing so fast that I don't want to lose all of those cute little things she does. So yeah...a lot of my blogs lately are about the Little Lady, but this blog is called Livin' Laabs, and that's what we're livin' these days!

So in the interest of generating some comments, I'll toss out a couple of questions that are non-Lucy related. Given the impending Thanksgiving holiday next week (NEXT WEEK?! As my dear cousin so aptly put it - "holy crap!"), I'm wondering two things:

1) What are you most thankful for?
AND
2) What are you most looking forward to over the Thanksgiving holiday?

I think we all know my answer to #1, though I would add to it that I am really thankful for an incredibly helpful and supportive husband. As for #2, I am most looking forward to spending time with my family over a 4-day weekend!

How about you?

Contortionist

The Little Lady has been twisting herself into some pretty interesting positions lately, trying to move her body to get what she wants...

She is back to rolling over from belly to back, and today I saw her roll from back to belly for the first time! I am proud to say, it was to get a closer look at a book. Perhaps we have a future bookworm on our hands? :)

We Take Our Carrots Very Seriously Around Here...


...and our sweet potatoes, and green beans, and squash, and pears, and bananas, and cereal. Peas are still up for debate.

And I cannot underestimate the value of this oversized vinyl bib. Best. Purchase. Ever.

First Halloween

Lucy was a ladybug for Halloween! I got a great deal on this costume and it was SO darn cute on her. We dressed her up and took her over to Grandma Betty and Grandpa Lee's house, where she happily soaked in all the attention. All in all, a first Halloween success!

5 Months

TA-DA!! Demonstrating this month's typical pose - ALWAYS with at least one finger in the mouth, is Miss Lucy:

Holy bananas! Our Chunky Monkey is 5 months old. Lucy is growing like crazy…I estimate she weighs about 19 or 20 pounds now and is at least 27 inches long. I know, she’s a big girl! We are in 6-9 month clothes and have been for most of this month, with a few things in the 3-6 that still fit. She is a strong, resilient baby and has remained healthy so far this nasty flu season. Spending daytime with her Auntie Marcey seems to agree with Lucy; she is all smiles when we drop her off, and she gets lots of attention and playtime during the day. I think it really turned out to be a blessing that our daycare situation turned out this way for the time being. Getting her through the winter will be a big relief, and hopefully we can avoid all of this H1N1 businesses.

Lucy is such a happy baby, and really developing her own little personality. Appearance-wise, people’s first impressions are generally “look at those cheeks!” and “what a beautiful smile!” Her eyes are still a hazel color, and earlier this month she lost a lot of hair and has grown back a consistent all-over fuzz which appears to be some shade of brown. This little one is so much fun right now. She’s got smiles all day long and if you find just the right thing, she’ll giggle…which is very contagious. She’s incredibly vocal lately – it’s not really screaming, but more of what I would call shrieking. She’s typically very happy and talkative in the morning, and we have no idea where that came from.

Just so you don’t think it’s all sunshine and roses around here, though…she does become what husband calls a “Devil Child” or what I call “Miss Crankypants” at around 5:30PM, pretty much every day. Husband gets the brunt of it, as I'm usually not home yet. There’s not much you can do with her at this time; I don’t even think she knows what she wants. It usually doesn’t last long though, and then we’re off into the feeding and bedtime routine. She goes to bed around 7:15PM, and as with naps, when she’s tired, she definitely wants to go to bed and is very easy to put down.

This month we’ve also started on the “solid” foods. She’s had rice cereal every evening for a couple of weeks now. It took her a day or two to catch on, but since then she can’t seem to open her mouth wide enough and fast enough! We’ve also tried bananas (OK) and sweet potatoes (YUM after some initial yucky faces). It’s a kick to see her try something new and check out both the taste and texture. She still has four 8-oz bottles per day and drinks like a champ. The cereal was a real blessing for about a week or so, when Lucy returned to sleeping through the night…but recently she’s back to waking around 3:30-4AM. It’s as simple as popping the pacifier in and she’s fine, but this is not fun. If anyone has tips on what sleep training has worked for you, please let me know. I think we’re at a point we need to figure something out. It doesn’t seem too bad at the beginning of the week, but by Friday the lack of sleep really starts to catch up with us.

Lucy still rarely rolls over by herself anymore. It’s like she figured it out, and now on to the next thing, who cares?! She loves to spend time in the jumper, but hasn’t really figured out the jumping aspect yet. She grabs and touches EVERYTHING, and especially likes to feel Husband’s goatee (which is pretty darn cute). She has realized that certain things make noise, and is enjoying some of the more interactive toys with lights and music. She’s starting to gaze at things that are just out of reach, and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head – “how am I going to get that?” Sometimes she seems to get there and we don't quite know how. Lucy does great on her tummy and this month’s biggest accomplishment…she can sit up! It was pretty early in the month when we discovered this. We have to watch her because after awhile she’ll slowly start to fall backward or forward, but overall she’s great at holding herself upright and can sit and play with a toy in her hands.

So that's our Lucy heading into Month 5. Our big events last month were her baptism, and of course Halloween coming up tomorrow! I’ll be sure and post some photos. Events we are looking forward to in November are Thanksgiving, and getting 6-month portraits taken.

Back to the Scene of the Crime

This weekend Husband and I, along with our friends Jacquie and Alex, attended a wedding reception for my friend Mary and her husband Tom. They actually had a small wedding this past spring down in Iowa, so this was just a party. It was a lot of fun with an old time/bluegrass kind of band (fiddles and such). The most special part about it, though, was that it was held at the same place Husband and I had our wedding and reception over three years ago...a beautiful place called Gale Woods Farm.

When we got there, it was still light out, so we walked down the path to the overlook where we had our wedding ceremony. Things had changed a little bit, but it felt pretty cool to be there again, as we hadn't been back since The Big Day. Here we are visiting the scene of the crime...


Thanks to Mary and Tom for giving us this opportunity for a rare evening out with friends and the chance to revisit the spot where our married life began. We made it home to see the last quarter of the Hawkeye game (AWESOME last second win against Michigan State), so the night was definitely capped off right!

Odyssey Flashback

A couple weeks ago when my family was here, we were reminiscing about the Odyssey game system we used to have. Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about? Apparently the first Odyssey system was the "first home video game console" and came out in the early 1970s. The system we had was actually the Odyssey II, and ours entered our lives in the early to mid-1980s. I think my brothers and I got it as a Christmas gift, but maybe Mom or Dad can clarify that.
This game had cartridges that you plugged into it, and as you can see it was an old-school joystick setup with ONE button (how unheard of in today's games!) My favorite though, was what I now know was called the "speech synthesis unit." It was an attachment that allowed the system to "talk" and play music. One thing I still find hilarious is that while playing a spelling game, if you spelled the word correctly, the speech unit said, "that is...ker-net." The fact that a spelling game couldn't "say" correct...well, correctly, is truly ironic.

All in all many hours were spent by my brothers and I (and Dad) playing this system. Now, in the time of the Wii and XBox 360 and Playstation3, it's amazing to look back and see how far the games have come. But sometimes, I could really just use a little Freedom Fighters.

Angel Baby

Today Lucy was baptized in a beautiful little ceremony at the beginning of a regular service at our church. She was a little angel baby - very alert, no fussing...she even gave the pastor a big 'ol smile when he was anointing her, which caused a wave of chuckles throughout the congregation. She was surrounded by her grandparents, Great Grandma, and nearly all her aunts and uncles.


The day was extra special not only because of all of the family coming together, but also in part because of what Lucy wore to be welcomed as a child of God. She wore the baptismal dress that I wore on my baptism, which was also the dress that my mom wore on hers. Bringing that tradition to her day was something very special to me. To keep her cozy she wore a pink sweater crocheted by her Grandma Laabs, which was also special (and just for fun, she had on a pair of pink bloomers with her name stitched on the bottom). I know I'm biased, but she really was adorable!

We are so thankful to all of our family for being present and sharing this day with Lucy. We love you all!

4 Months

Lucy is so much fun right now! A face full of smiles and eyes full of wonder.

Overall this month has brought us more of the same activities, but just more defined and frequent. Lucy is still grabbing and shoving anything and everything into her mouth. She’s a little more interested in textures now and touching pages of books or other parts of toys. She is in the very early stages of seeing something she wants and actively grabbing or reaching for it. I have noticed this very recently with her bottle. You can tell she knows what it is and where it’s supposed to go, and her little hands open and try to clasp it and put it in her mouth. It won’t be long before she can hold it all by herself. She is also getting a little more intuitive and knows what comes next; like when we are getting ready to take her out of her car seat, she strains her head forward in anticipation of getting out. It’s kind of cool to see her putting things together in this way.

One of the absolute best things that happened this month is that we have been able to get Lucy to giggle. It’s not very frequent, and we haven’t found one thing that consistently makes her do it, but when she does, I can hardly stop laughing myself. It’s so darn cute! She is also starting to discover cause and effect. We get a little more of the “fake” crying now, mostly for attention. Sometimes it’s quite hilarious because she’ll be whimpering and then when you look at her, she’ll immediately stop and smile at you. Quite charming (for the time being anyway). She is still exploring her voice and at times can be pretty loud with her babbling, and for the past several days she has been obsessed with rumbling her lips and blowing raspberries (click for video here), which typically ends up with copious amounts of spit all over her face and the front of her shirt.

Physically she’s still quite strong and is continuing to improve in head and neck strength. We got her a jumper a couple of weeks ago, and she really likes sitting in there and playing with all the toys. She’s hasn’t caught on that she can jump yet, but I’m sure when she does she’ll really go to town. She’s pretty good at tummy time, but for the past few weeks refuses to roll over. It’s like she totally forgot how to do it! She’ll do the Superman or get so close to rolling over, but won’t take that final plunge, and cries the whole time. So I’m not sure what’s up with that. We are also working on tripod sitting, which she currently hates, but hopefully she’ll build strength toward sitting on her own. Her eyesight is much better and she smiles at us from across the room and turns her head to see people or Buddy. It’s is also hilarious to watch her as she looks into a mirror. Earlier in the month she just looked confused when I would hold her up in front of the bathroom vanity, but now she smiles at herself and at the Mommy in the mirror. She has the funniest expressions and is so wide-eyed and expressive. I love to just watch her look at things…everything is so brand new.

I have definitely noticed that she has gotten heavier, and this was confirmed at our 4-month doctor visit. She weighs over 17 pounds! She’s also long and lovely at nearly 26 inches, which I have been noticing also, as some of her 3-6 month clothes are getting a little short already. Hmmm, maybe bigger pajamas are what we need to get her to sleep… the past couple of weeks she has been waking an average of twice a night. We have definitely been spoiled with the sleeping through the night since Week 6, so it’s hard to complain, but hopefully this is temporary.


This month we are looking forward to Lucy’s baptism, starting some rice cereal, and of course, dressing her up for Halloween! I may also be hooking up with another mom who does photography on the side to get some outside fall photos of Lucy. Stay tuned!

Lucy Time

It's been pretty quiet around here lately. The past couple of weekends we have been sticking close to home, which has been nice considering how busy things had been at the end of the summer, and how busy they are bound to be once the holiday season kicks in.

Weekends are also my Lucy Time. Since I have gone back to work, it's been a bit difficult to adjust to not seeing her during her most active hours. I get a little bit of time in the morning, but that's pretty hectic as the four of us prepare for our day. Most days by the time I get home I have about 1-2 hours before she goes to bed, and that time is spent playing with her a little bit, but then winding her down for bedtime. It's nice to have that time after 8PM to get a few things done around the house or just relax, but sometimes I wish she stayed up a little longer. So the weekends (starting with Friday afternoons), Lucy is pretty much attached to my hip. I try to spend as much time with her as possible, while taking care of errands or other obligations as well.

This past week Lucy also started daycare, which for right now is her Auntie Marcey. It feels great to know that she is getting a lot of attention from someone I trust completely and who loves her so much, but it still marks that transition to someone besides Husband or I providing primary care for her. So again, the weekends I am diving back into her routine, discovering the new things she can do. Making the most of the time I have, and trying not to feel guilty when I need to get out of the house once in awhile and do something for me. The weekdays are about just maintaining, trying to stay on top of things enough to get through the week...and the weekends are living...and trying to catch up enough to start the week in a good place.

Such is life, you know? I have to say my transition to work has probably been done in the easiest possible way - first Husband was home with her, now she is with her aunt...so I should be at least a little more comfortable by the time "official" daycare kicks in. I know lots of women do this, but for me it is a little bit of a struggle right now to feel balanced, and I don't think that's really going to ever go away.

I am told this is called being a M-O-M. And that is one title I wouldn't change for the world.

Blessing of the Animals

This afternoon Brandon and I took Buddy to church. Why, you say?

For the Blessing of the Animals.


Our church does this annually as a way to recognize our pets as God's creatures and to acknowledge their importance in our lives...as beautifully expressed in this prayer:

God, our creator, help us to love all creatures as our kin, all animals as our partners on Earth, all birds as messengers of praise, all small beings as expressions of your mysterious design and all frogs as voices of hope.

(I'm not sure why frogs got singled out, but it's a nice sentiment). Buddy was reasonably well-behaved with all of the other dogs and a few cats, and Brandon and I thought it was pretty cool. Since Lucy was born Buddy probably hasn't gotten as much attention from me especially, though he has had a close friend in Brandon since Brandon moved in with us. But it was nice to take some time out to celebrate our furry friend. In preparation, he even got to go to the groomer yesterday to get a bath and the full spa treatment. :)

While cruising the web today, I found this video through another blog. I thought it was pretty special; please check it out: God and Dog. Give your puppers some special attention tonight if you have one.

What's One More?

I always said I was not going to be one of those moms that would acquire a lot of unnecessary "baby stuff." Before Lucy was born I obsessed over what I really needed, asked all my friends what they preferred. "You don't need a swing and a bouncy seat," one said. "Don't waste your money on those play mats," said another.

Well guess what? She's got all three of those. Add a Bumbo chair and a play blanket and a smattering of colorful toys that squeak, rattle, and/or play music, and you're pretty much looking at our livingroom. It comes down to finding something to stimulate her, and something that will occupy her for a few moments while I go to the bathroom, or just want to use my 2 hands for something else. So seem we acquire more as we go...but some do get taken out of rotation, too.

That being said, here's our latest contraption. I scored this jumper in great condition for $25 on Craig's List; a sweet deal considering the brand new version retails for about $90. I also like the idea of re-using instead of putting something new into the universe. And she loves it!

Quarantine

Last Friday Husband woke up feeling sick. Stuffy head, coughing, sneezing, etc. Since he is the primary caretaker of Lucy right now, we were weighing options on what to do. I had to at least go into work for a short bit to get a deliverable out the door, and lucky Grandma Betty was available to come over. I got up with Lucy and stayed with her until Grandma got there, and then came back home around 11AM to spend the rest of the day with her.

The original plan for Friday afternoon was that Husband was going to bring Lucy to my office around noon, and we were going to have lunch with my brother Josh. Since the goal was to keep her away from the sickness as much as possible, I saw no reason to cancel those plans. So Lucy and I drove back over to St. Paul and had lunch with Uncle Josh at The Blue Door Pub, where he ate a hamburger that had peanut butter, pepper jack cheese, and bacon on it! Yikes!


After lunch we stopped by my office for a little bit to visit, then we went to a local mall to do a little shopping. It was easiest to go to a mall, since I could just pop her in the stroller and wheel around without having to constantly get in and out of the car to go to a new store. We wasted a couple of hours and got some clothes for Brandon, then finally headed home. All in all, a lovely afternoon of quarantine!

(By the way, Husband is much better. He is still feeling some of the effects, but is past the really nasty stuff and back to caring for Lucy. I think he missed her a little bit). :)

Celebrating Family

Lucy has a new cousin! Little E was born on August 19th, and this past weekend Lucy and I traveled to Storm Lake to meet him. His mom and big brother came over to my parent's house to hang out with us on Saturday afternoon. He is such a little sweetheart...holding him, it was hard to believe that Lucy was ever that small.


Earlier that day, we got to take a tour of the new elementary school where Grandma Diane works. Great-Grandma Mardie also joined us, and afterwards we girls all went to lunch. It was kind of cool to think about 4 generations of ladies all lunching together. Great-Grandma couldn't believe how much Lucy had grown!


Lucy also got to see her Great-Grandpa at breakfast on Sunday morning, and aside from all that excitement, she just enjoyed spending time with her grandparents. We had a great weekend!

Name That Tomato

We've got a bumper crop of tomatoes around here! Only 2 plants but they are very prolific. I've had plenty of fresh tomatoes lately, and have also tried my hand at making some tomato sauce and freezing it. I'm going to try that again this weekend, but do seasoned tomato chunks that Husband can use in his chili. I've been wanting to learn how to can for awhile now, but just haven't had the time to get it done. Maybe next year!

Speaking of chili, we also planted chili peppers and jalapenos, which have also been pretty fruitful. This past weekend Husband made the first chili batch of the fall season, which always seems to happen around the end of August/early September. He used several of the chili peppers and oh boy did they BURN! Hurts so good. We all like spicy, but this batch had a bit of a different kick. I had to cowboy up to finish the bowl, and Husband and Brandon had to get into the antacid afterwards. We grow some good peppers!

Anyway, for the real point of this post...awhile ago I pulled this freak of nature off the tomato plant.
It's two tomatoes stuck together! Such a feat deserves a great name. So I ask you this...if it were a sculpture in an art gallery, what would you name it?

Back to School

Brandon started his first day at a new school yesterday. When I asked him if I could take his picture, he said, "are you serious?" I said absolutely, it's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Doesn't matter if you're a high school junior. For a moment I even had him convinced I wanted him to pose like he was actually walking out the door. He asked me if I was going to do this when he goes to college too...I can't lie, I probably will!

Three Months

I can't believe Lucy is three months old already! She has grown so much this month, both physically and developmentally. We didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, so I don't know her exact measurements, but judging from the scale at home she weighs about 15 pounds! I can really feel the difference when I'm carrying her around. She has also stretched out quite a bit. We said goodbye to the 0-3 month wardrobe early in the month and have moved on to 3-6...though at this rate I'm wondering how long that size will last!

(and seriously folks, if you know me, you know I've been waiting a lifetime to put a kid of mine in a treehugger outfit) :)

She is still eating and sleeping quite well, and seems to be adjusting to formula OK. We are still in the process of getting her totally weaned from breast milk, but by the end of the week she should be completely switched over. Having tried pumping at work this past week, I found it to be pretty challenging, and this week was even pretty low-key in terms of meetings, etc. So I decided to make the switch official. As for sleeping, still going at it like a champ with very few hiccups. She is now in bed by 9:00 and sleeps through until 6 or 6:30AM.

Lucy can do so many things now! Although her fists are still closed a lot of the time, she bats at toys overhead and grabs everything...including our shirts, our hair (chest hair in the case of Husband), blankets, toys, etc. I have to watch my earrings very closely, and forget about necklaces! Anything she gets her hands on most often ends up in her mouth, and she can often be found sucking on her fist or occasionally a finger or thumb if there's not a pacifier in sight. (With this also comes a lot of drool, which I hope doesn't mean she's going to be an early teether). She's still very strong and has great head control. She can push her arms and head up while on her tummy, and roll over from tummy to back. Lately she loves to sit up (assisted) and will strain her neck until we pull her up. The Bumbo chair comes in handy in this regard, although her fat little legs get stuck in it when it's time to come out! :) She also likes to stand and can bear weight on her feet.

She can definitely see better, and is always staring at patterns and any screen prints or lettering on our T-shirts. She's also started to notice Buddy, most often with a quizzical or studious look, and occasionally a smile. Won't be long before she's grabbing and poking at him!


She knows our voices and also follows us across the room with her eyes. I think she definitely recognizes certain people, because we are almost always greeted with a big 'ol smile. Ah, that smile. I could never get tired of it! She is also babbling and blowing bubbles, and seems pretty excited to "tell" us things. She works pretty hard at it and it's pretty amazing to watch her discover the sounds she can make. She'll imitate certain things I do, like sticking out my tongue or making certain "ahh" or "ohh" shapes with my mouth. It's quite funny!

Earlier this week we all went to the zoo as a family, which was Lucy's first time. She was very good and enjoyed riding in the stroller and then in the Baby Bjorn, just looking around and observing things. Her daddy also bought her a stuffed purple tiger to commemorate the trip, which was very sweet. The next day, I returned to work. Since then Lucy has been staying at home with Husband, which will be the case for the next three weeks. This has made my transition a little bit easier, and also provides some valuable bonding time between the two of them. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow.

So that's our little Lucy. I just can't wait to get home to her each day. I wonder what month 4 will bring?!

The End of the Road

Well folks, the time has come. After spending the past three months at home with my beautiful daughter, tomorrow I go back to work.

There are the obvious separation anxieties, the feelings that I'm going to miss something new Lucy does or that she's going to wonder why her mommy is not there as much. Although this will be extremely difficult, I know that it will get better and that we will still have a special bond. The fact that her father will be staying home with her the next 4 weeks eases that transition a bit. There is also a part of me that is looking forward to going back, to exercising that part of my brain again, and to getting into a more "normal" routine. But there is something else that has been bothering me as I prepare to go back.

A mere twelve weeks ago I gave birth; I brought forth a life into this world. As I look back I realize that my life, our family life, has changed so much in that time. Not only the physicality and emotionality of giving birth, but now having a baby relying on us for everything, and also having a teenager living with us now. This all happened about the same time. I have never really stopped to process this information, I just dug in and did what I needed to do. Life is really no longer about me, or about Husband and I (just walk into a room with a baby and you'll see what I mean!). Priorities are very different. At times the responsibility seems so heavy, and scary. There has been so much change, and things keep changing. It is now hitting me that this is a lot for a person to absorb.

Additionally, in going back to work I am now faced with the thing that I probably feared the most before I even had Lucy - maintaining work/life balance. I foresee this being the most meltdown-inducing situation in the coming months. My personality is such that I want to please everyone and do everything. I am an above average multi-tasker, but I have my limits. The trouble is, I don't always know when or how to stop. I forget that sometimes I need time just for me, and that's OK. I usually end up getting to my wit's end and temporarily falling off the edge. I can blame this on no one but myself, but I also need to rely on those closest to me to reel me in before I get too deep. Good news is, I now have a much greater incentive to maintain that balance.


Funny how someone so small, can teach a lesson so big.

So it's another deep breath, another step forward, another transition. Wish me luck!

Out and About: Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

I saw a segment on Noerenberg Memorial Gardens on the news a couple of weeks ago, and decided to check it out as part of our efforts to see more of the Twin Cities. The gardens are located at Crystal Bay on Lake Minnetonka, which is just west of Minneapolis and perhaps one of the state's most well-known lakes. The Noerenbergs were the founders of Grain Belt Brewery and built their estate on this spot in 1890. In the 1970s, one of the children left the estate to the park board and directed that the home be razed and the gardens made available for public enjoyment.

This really was a gorgeous place, and we happened to hit it on a lovely summer day. There are hundreds of varieties of perennials and everything is very well-maintained. We sat in the gazebo inspired boathouse for awhile (influenced by the Noerenberg's world travels), and actually struck up a conversation with a man who was also sitting there, sketching the gardens. It's well worth the trip to check out this little treasure on Lake Minnetonka.


More photos here.

Look, Ma!

Monday night the in-laws came over to watch Lucy while Husband and I went to dinner and a movie. When we got home, Betty said, "so when did Lucy start rolling over?" I said, "I've never seen her do it!" Apparently our baby girl decided to show off for Grandma and Grandpa!

She was too tired that night to give it another go, so I tried this morning, and sure enough, she has suddenly mastered rolling from tummy to back. She went in both directions this morning. It's funny, I was just noticing yesterday that she was holding her head up a lot better while on her tummy, and now this. It is so fun to watch her do all of these things for the first time. I know I'm going to miss some of these firsts when I go back to work, so I'm glad she decided to give me this little gift in my last week!

Music For Delivering Babies

I was messing around in iTunes tonight and I came across the play list I put together for my hospital stay when Lucy was born. I had gone through all my CDs and picked out songs that I found calming or that made me smile. I didn't get all of my songs uploaded (since I was 2 weeks early) but I did manage to assemble 34 songs. I'm sure my dear Husband wished I would have made it through all of my CDs, as he had to listen to that play list over and over that entire day. Also in the rotation was the Jayhawks CD Smile (I had forgotten how much I LOVE that CD), and Psalms by John Hermanson.

Anyway, I noticed my play list has a "last played" date and time for each song. The last song I listened to that night (Friday May 29th) was Smoke Rings in the Dark by Gary Allan at 10:55PM. I think after that time we were both trying to sleep, and at about 3:15AM I started to push, and I wasn't even thinking about having any music on at that point.

The nurse made a comment that we had a lot of variety in our musical choices. For those of you curious, here are the songs that helped me bring my baby into the world:

Sunshine on My Shoulders - John Denver
Now That I Found You - Terri Clark
Julia - The Beatles
I Am A Rock - Simon and Garfunkel
Beth - Kiss (this one made Husband laugh)
Rhymes and Reasons - John Denver
Smoke Rings in the Dark - Gary Allan
Poems, Prayers and Promises - John Denver
With or Without You - U2
Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac
For Baby - John Denver
Me and You - Kenny Chesney
Power of Two - Indigo Girls
Gold in the Sunset - Bob Schneider
All the Right Reasons - Jayhawks
Making Memories of Us - Keith Urban
Hold On - Sarah McLachlan
Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning - Carly Simon
Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan
Rocky Mountain High - John Denver
Love Will Keep Us Alive - The Eagles
The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel
Dear Prudence - The Beatles
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
Follow Me - John Denver
Starwood in Aspen - John Denver
Long as I Can See the Light - CCR
I Will - The Beatles
Every Breath You Take - The Police
The Way Life is Supposed to Be - Bob Schneider
But For the Grace of God - Keith Urban
Something in the Way She Moves - James Taylor
'Ol 55 - Sarah McLachlan

Breaking in Big Brother

Tonight Husband and I left Lucy with Brandon so we could make a quick 30-45 minute trip to Ultimate Electronics to view televisions. It is close by so we figured this would be a good opportunity to see how he would do. Lucy was recently fed and in a good mood when we left.

Husband and I got a good salesman at the store and after some ironic role reversal (i.e. me saying "let's just buy the TV!" and Husband hemming and hawing and worrying) we purchased a new TV and made our merry way home to see how our kiddos were doing.

The first thing I noticed was that Lucy had different clothes on. This was followed closely by Brandon saying, "how do you get poop out of that?" and glancing over at the the baby swing.

Which was covered in poo.

Apparently she did her business while sitting in the swing, and Brandon said when he lifted her out there was poo on the back of her arms and legs. Brandon's comment of "it was DISGUSTING" pretty much sums it up. The girl hadn't pooped all day (which is unusual for her), and she saved it all for the 40 minutes she was alone with her big brother. Oh, and to add insult to injury, when he was lifting her out of the swing, she spit up on the floor. She left it all on the table, so to speak. Or so we thought.

Brandon was more than willing to pass her off to me, and needless to say, a bath was necessary. As soon as she was clean and smelling good and dressed in her PJs, do you know what that little girl did? That cute little adorable girl?

The little squirt made a little squirt. And then smiled.

So I changed her, and five minutes later, Tootie McTooterson let another one go. Let's just say it was not what you would call...dry.

Just reminding us all who's boss around here!

Out and About - Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Since the weeks/days before heading back to work or school are rapidly decreasing, Brandon and I decided that we would get out a little bit and explore some places in and around the Twin Cities. There really are no rules to this adventure, except we have to be able to take Lucy wherever we go. We started out a couple of weeks ago by visiting the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on the edge of Downtown Minneapolis. I picked out this first place, but I had also asked Brandon to come up with some places he would like to go, and on the way there when I asked him about it, the only thing he had come up with was "the place with the Spoonbridge and Cherry or whatever." I was happy to inform him that this is where we were going.

So here are the kiddos in front of said sculpture:


Brandon seemed to have a good time. We walked all around the sculpture garden, then over the pedestrian bridge that spans Hennepin/Lyndale Avenues to Loring Park. You can see more of our photos here. The ride home was, of course, interrupted by a stop at Dairy Queen.

I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a little time with Brandon, get us all out of the house, and also take him to some places he has never been (same goes for me, or at least places I haven't been in awhile). Last week Brandon was in the Boundary Waters, but this week we are back to exploring. Stay tuned for our next adventure!

Blogiversary Number Three

Three years writing this crazy 'ol blog! This year you all saw me navigate my first pregnancy, and now life with our baby girl. I introduced you to Tunes on 2s (which I have been very negligent about lately), and gave you a glimpse of what my work and home life is like. Did you have any favorite blog posts this year? Even if you didn't, please check in and leave a comment to let me know you're reading. Thanks!

Two Months

Lucy has changed so much this month! She is weighing in at 12 pounds 8 ounces and is 23 1/4 inches long...needless to say our little one isn't so little anymore! Her first real doctor visit went well, even the shots. On the initial poke I saw this wave of terror cross her face, and she looked at me like, "What the HELL, MOM!?!?" and then burst into tears. But once it was all over and I picked her up, she was fine. She slept a lot today but otherwise handled things like a real trooper.

You wouldn't know it from her picture, but she is all smiles these days. She's got a huge grin that lights up her whole face, but gets shy around a camera. She responds to noises we make and is very interested in the shape of our mouths and how we make all of those fascinating sounds. She turns her head to look at things and stare at toys and mobiles, and it looks like she's thinking about how she can get her hands on them. Won't be long now!

Besides her smiles she's got all kinds of other faces, but a lot of the time she looks very serious and studious about things. Her brow crinkles up like she's concentrating really hard. I took her into work to visit a couple of weeks ago, and everyone was trying to figure out who she looks like. I said most often she seems to resemble Husband, although some of her faces are totally me. Right on cue, she made the "studious" face, and a longtime co-worker of mine said, "yep, that's Jessica!"

We have also gotten out quite a bit more this month, including a road trip to Iowa to visit my parents over the 4th of July. It was just she and I, and I have to say she was a champ. She loves the car and is generally asleep within minutes of taking off. I've also taken her along to run errands, and we go for walks around the neighborhood or to meet friends for a walk in the park or around one of the lakes.

Another big milestone this month was that Lucy started sleeping through the night. Since July 10th she has been generally sleeping from about 10:30PM until 6AM. This is HUGE! She started doing this all on her own, with no "training" from us. The first couple of nights I kept waking up and checking on her to make sure she was breathing (first time parent paranoia I guess). The bedtime has varied a bit sometimes, but is getting more consistent. We are now working on laying her down when she is drowsy instead of totally asleep, and have a bedtime routine in place. She likes the bath, so we have her little tub out every night as part of the whole process. I am just counting my blessings and enjoying the sleep while I can, since I know there will be backslides every now and then.

Overall Lucy is more of a joy each and every day. Things have gotten a bit easier now that she's more resilient and interactive, not to mention that I'm getting some sleep! She is growing and changing so fast...I already have those feelings of "she's never going to be this small again..." I have about a month left before I have to go back to work, and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest.